In making this year’s selections, Fortune noted that Strayer has opened 33 of its 84 campuses in the past three years. NCI, an IT security firm, won $767 million in orders and contracts this year as the federal government increased vigilance in cyber security. Meanwhile, GeoEye delivered high-resolution snapshots of Earth to American defense and intelligence agencies while ManTech repaired military telecom systems.

The No. 1 company was Eldorado Gold, a Canadian-based gold mining company whose fortunes have been lifted by the soaring price of gold. It’s also the first North American company to operate mines in China. Fortune bases the list on a firm’s three years of revenue and profit growth and total return.